New Zealand football league system

---

The New Zealand league system, or men's football pyramid, is the structure of leagues nationally and regionally, newly updated for the 2021 season. The system previously did not have a path from grassroots to the top flight but now has an integrated first and second tier, opening the door to clubs across the country. This league system runs separate to the women's national pyramid in addition to any leagues restricted by age. The current top flight of New Zealand Football is the National League, entering it's inaugural season in 2021.

Cups

The premier cup competition in New Zealand is the Chatham Cup, dating back to 1923.

The structure (2021)

Clubs at the top of the pyramid are only permitted to enter a single team in their confederation's higher levels. Other teams from the same club are permitted to enter teams below this threshold, but have restrictions on promotion.

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
1	New Zealand National League 10 clubs1 - 2 OFC Champions League Qualification
2	Northern League 12 clubs - 4 Qualification, 1 Relegation				Central League 10 clubs - 3 Qualification, 1 Relegation								Southern league 8 clubs - 2 Qualification
3	NRFL Division 1 11 clubs - 1 Promotion, 2 Relegation				Central Federation League 8 clubs- 1 Promotion Play-off, 1 Relegation					Ultra Football Capital Premier 10 clubs - 1 Promotion Play-off, 2 Relegation2			Mainland Premier League 8 clubs - 5 Qualification, 3 Play-off		Southern Premiership 8 clubs - 3 Qualification, 5 Championship Playoff
4	NRFL Division 2 12 clubs - 2 Promotion, 2 Relegation				Pacific Premiership		Horizon Premiership		Taranaki Premiership	Capital 1 8 clubs, 2 Promotion2, 2 Relegation2			Nelson Community Leagues 2 Promotion2, 2 Relegation (Tiers 4-8)	Canterbury Championship League 8 clubs - 3 Promotion Play-off, 5 Championship Playoff	Southern Community Leagues5
5	NRF Championship 8 clubs - 1 Promotion, 1 Play-off, 2 Relegation2		WaiBOP Premiership 10 clubs - 1 Play-off, 2 Relegation2		Hawke's bay Community Leagues	Gisborne Community Leagues	Wanganui Championship	Manawatu Community Leagues	Taranaki Community Leagues	Capital 2 8 clubs, 2 Promotion2, 2 Relegation				Mainland Community Leagues 1 Promotion2, 1 Relegation (Tiers 5-11)
6	NRF Northland Championship 6 clubs, No Promotion, 2 Relegation	NRF Championship Division 1 10 clubs - 2 Promotion2, 2 Relegation	WaiBOP Championship 12 clubs - 2 Promotion2, 2 Relegation2,3							Capital 3 10 clubs, 2 Promotion, 2 Relegation
7	NRF Northland Community Leagues 2 Promotion, 2 Relegation each league (Tiers 7-9)	NRF Community Leagues 2 Promotion, 2 Relegation each league (Tiers 7-15)	Waikato Community Leagues 2 Promotion3, 2 Relegation each league (Tiers 7-10)	BOP Community Leagues 2 Promotion3, 2 Relegation each league (Tiers 7-8)						Capital 4 10 clubs, 2 Promotion, 2 Relegation4
8-15										Horowhenua/Kapiti Community Leagues 2 Promotion4, 2 Relegation each league (Tiers 8-10)	Wairarapa Community Leagues 2 Promotion4, 2 Relegation each league (Tiers 8-10)	Wellington Community Leagues 2 Promotion4, 2 Relegation each league (Tiers 8-13)

^1- 9 teams qualify from regional leagues to join Wellington Phoenix Reserves, who automatically qualify

^2- If teams in promotion places are eligible

^3- Only the champions of the top community leagues in Waikato and BOP are promoted. Relegated

^4- As only 2 clubs are relegated from Capital 4, the 3 champions of each top level community league must play-off for the 2 promotion spots

^5- To be added to

References

This article "New Zealand football league system" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:New Zealand football league system. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---